Non-Profit Management
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM in NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT
The Certificate in Nonprofit Management is designed to provide students and practitioners with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to manage and lead nonprofit organizations. You may earn the certificate in three semesters of study.
What the program covers:
- Practice, theories and techniques of philanthropy, volunteerism, and nonprofit organizations and the role of the nonprofit sector in our society and economy
- The different managerial and legal issues in the nonprofit sector
- Nonprofit resource acquisition and management
- The relationships among government, business, and nonprofit agencies
- Knowledge and competencies in recruiting, training, and managing volunteers
- The challenges facing the nonprofits in today's world including issues of accountability, effectiveness, productivity, and the use of technology.
Certificate Course Requirements
(see course descriptions at bottom of page)
- Students must complete three core courses (3 credits each)
PAD 620 Managing Nonprofit Organization
PAD 621 Resource Acquisition and Management
PAD 622 Volunteer Management
- Students must complete three (3) of the following five one (1) credit hour electives.
PAD 623 Grants Writing
PAD 624 Nonprofit Strategic Planning
PAD 626 Nonprofit Program Evaluation
PAD 627 Nonprofit Information Management
PAD 628 Nonprofit Laws
Certificate Admission Requirements
- You must hold a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
- We require that you have earned a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale and, if applicable, a minimum 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on all previous graduate work. Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended must be sent to the Office of Graduate Programs.
- You must write a narrative essay of 200-300 words stating your career and academic goals and how the Certificate Program will help you attain those goals. Please enclose this with your application.
- Submit a Graduate Application and $40 application fee to the Office of Graduate Programs. Check the box marked Nonprofit Certificate Program. If you have an application that does not have that selection listed, please write it in next to the MPA program.
Relationship between Nonprofit Certificate and MPA Program
Certificate students who subsequently become admitted into the MPA program (an additional application is required) may receive up to nine (9) hours of credit towards the MPA degree if appropriate grade and age of course requirements are met. Students in the MPA program may enroll in the one-credit workshops. A bundle of any three of the workshops may be substituted as an elective in the MPA program.
For Information Contact
Office of Graduate Programs
Lucas Administrative Center
Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY 41099
Phone: (859) 572-1555
Fax: (859) 572-6670
e-mail: gradprog@nku.edu
Course Descriptions
PAD 620: Managing the Nonprofit Organizations (3,0,3). Development and characteristics of nonprofit organizations; managerial challenges; application of relevant theories to the nonprofit organization; organizing, staffing, planning, programming, evaluating; board-staff relations; managing volunteers.
PAD 621: Resource Acquisition & Management (3,0,3). Concepts and practices of fundraising (direct mailing, annual, capital campaign, special events, planned giving, major gifts) and resource management (budgeting, financial reporting).
PAD 622: Volunteer Management (3,0.3). History and philosophical underpinnings of volunteerism; role of volunteers in nonprofit organizations, volunteer development program including volunteer recruitment, training, performance appraisal, motivation and reward; risk management; trends in volunteering.
PAD 623: Grants Writing (1,0,1) Practical hands-on approach to grants writing and knowledge of the grant systems. Topics include identifying potential funding sources; applications for funding assistance; requests for proposals from government agencies, application for funding from corporate and foundation sources.
PAD 624: Nonprofit Strategic Planning (1,0,1). Practice of strategic planning in the nonprofit sector including policy direction, internal and external assessments, identifying stakeholders and key issues, development of strategies, decision making, implementation and monitoring.
PAD 626: Nonprofit Program Evaluation (2,0,2). Introduction to the concepts and practices of program evaluation in the nonprofit sector, evaluation and planning, program design and implementation.
PAD 627: Nonprofit Information Management (1,0,1). Practical tools for adopting and implementing information technology in nonprofit organizations. Topics include web page development and maintenance; fundraising and mailing list management; network and database integration and maintenance.
PAD 628: Nonprofit Laws (1,0,1). Advanced level of understanding of laws pertaining to the nonprofit sector. In-depth overview of laws pertaining to nonprofit tax exempt status, corporate governance, conflicts of interest, staff and financial operations.